Definitions for Child Missing from Education



Tameside Local Authority GuidanceChildren Missing Education(CME)Updated April 2018Identifying and Maintaining Contact with Children Missing or At Risk of Going Missing from Education and Removing Pupils from School Roll IntroductionChildren who are not receiving suitable education are potentially exposed to higher degrees of risk and this can include engagement in anti-social or criminal behaviour, social disengagement, forced marriage & FGM, radicalisation and/or sexual exploitation. Duty to Identify Children Missing from EducationPart 1, Section 4 of The Education and Inspection Act 2006 places a duty on local authorities to have in place arrangements that will identify children in their area who are not receiving a suitable education. The duty applies to children of compulsory school age (5-16) who are not on a school roll and are not receiving suitable education. The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 effective 1st September 2016, details requirements of schools to inform the Local Authority (LA) when pupils are admitted or removed from the school roll. Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on governing bodies and proprietors of academies to make arrangements for supporting pupils at schools with medical conditions. Statutory guidance advises that LAs must work with schools to support pupils affected by this.The LA must put in place arrangements for joint working and appropriate information sharing with other agencies and LAs which come into contact with families and children. The following are the relevant agencies:All schools – including Maintained schools, Academies, Independent schools and Pupil Referral UnitsHealthPoliceYouth Offending TeamsHousingChildren’s Safeguarding TeamsDefinitions for Child Missing from EducationThe national definition of a child missing from education is:“All children of compulsory school age who are not on a school roll, nor being educated otherwise (e.g. at home, privately or in alternative provision) and who have been out of any educational provision for a substantial period of time (usually agreed as 15 school days or more)” Compulsory School AgeA child becomes ‘Compulsory School Age’ on either 1st January, 1st April or 1st September following their 5th birthday. A child ceases to be of ‘Compulsory School Age’ on the last Friday of June during the academic year they become 16Identifying children at risk of going missing Below is a list of children who are likely to go missing from education.Children at risk of forced marriage or FGMYoung people at risk of radicalisationYoung people who have committed criminal offencesChildren living in women's refugesChildren in homeless families, perhaps living in temporary accommodation, houses of multiple occupancy or Bed and Breakfast accommodationYoung runawaysChildren with long-term medical or emotional health problemsUnaccompanied asylum seekers and refugees, or the children of asylum seeking familiesLooked after children Children from Gypsy/Roma/Traveller backgroundYoung carersChildren from transient families, i.e. students who have experienced high levels of mobility between different education providersTeenage mothersChildren excluded from schoolChildren in private fostering arrangementsChildren informally excluded from school and those placed on long term part time timetablesChildren taken off roll following a lengthy absence due to an extended family holiday taken in term-timeChildren entering or leaving the independent schools sector EC nationals who have the right of abode in the UK – this now includes a significant number of asylum seekers granted status by other EC countries and who have subsequently moved to the UKOthers who have come from abroad to live and or work in the BoroughChildren who have particular social and behavioural difficulties and are placed in alternative placements. This means that by arrangement they do not attend their usual school full timeChildren who have low levels of attendance (persistent absence) How and why do Children go missing from education?Children fall out of the education system and are at risk of ‘going missing’ due to a wide range of reasons, some examples of which are listed below:They fail to start appropriate provision and so never enter the system (e.g. pre school to Reception or they are new to Tameside and no school application is submitted)They fail to complete a transition to High school (eg: fail to arrive at allocated school and are therefore not put on a school roll)They cease to attend, due to exclusion (e.g. illegal or unofficial exclusions) or withdrawal / removal from roll with no named destination.Elective Home EducationThe law allows parents to arrange for their children to be educated at home rather than at school. The LA has a robust system in place for monitoring the education of children that are educated at home. Further information on this can be found on the Tameside website or via ehe@.uk. Local Authority Duty The LA are committed to ensuring that There are secure pathways, procedures and monitoring systems in place to ensure that all children of compulsory school age are known and tracked.There are secure arrangements in place to share information when children of compulsory school age move into or out of the borough whether their whereabouts are known or unknown.The Local Authority (Tameside) has a CME Tracking Officer, which schools, other agencies and organisations can contact regarding CME via cme@tameside..uk. Responsibilities include:Developing and monitoring a referral system for children out of school, at risk of missing education and those reported missing.Maintaining and updating the children missing education database and acting as a link with schools and other agencies. Working with schools and other agencies to ensure that procedures and practices are in place to minimise the possibility of children and young people going missing from educationMaintain procedures to track pupils who have been reported as missing education.Duty of Schools (Including Academies, Independent Schools and Pupil Referral Units)“Schools should put in place appropriate safeguarding policies, procedures and responses for children who go missing from education, particularly on repeat occasions. It is essential that all staff are alert to signs to look out for and the individual triggers to be aware of when considering the risks of potential safeguarding concerns such as travelling to conflict zones, FGM and forced marriage”Extract from Keeping Children Safe in education (part 1) - July 2015All schools are required to inform the LA about the details of:All pupils admitted or removed from the roll of their school. The Amendments to the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 state that If a school is informed by the parent that the pupil will be residing elsewhere the school must take the following details and send to the LA immediately - the latest date must be the date the pupil is deleted from the admissions register.: - The full name of the parent the pupil will be residing with.- The specified address the pupil is moving to. - The date they reside thereIn addition if the pupil is moving schoolThe name of the school and first date the pupil will attend there (where reasonably practical).- The grounds for deletion? - At least one telephone number of the parent where the child will reside.If the whereabouts of the pupil is not known, the school and LA must make JOINT REASONABLE ENQUIRIES. Any pupil who has been absent without school’s authorisation for a continuous period of 20 days or more. Where schools have any safeguarding concerns about any pupil, it is vital that they follow their safeguarding procedures, a referral to CME does not replace a referral to Children’s Safeguarding .Duty of Other AgenciesStaff from other departments of the Local Authority and external agencies who come across any children, who they believe may not be accessing educational provision, are requested to contact the allocated school in the first instance. If this is unknown, they can contact the CME Tracking Officer via cme@tameside..uk. These agencies may involve Housing Officers, Community Safety Officers, Police, Health Professionals, Children’s Safeguarding professionals, etc.Referral Where schools are required to notify the LA of a pupil who is CME (see off rolling document - Appendix 2), the CME referral form at Appendix 1 should be completed.It is imperative that details of any actions taken to locate the pupil by school staff are detailed on the form eg: home visits, enquiries with emergency contacts etc. If this information is not provided it may cause a delay in action being taken by the LA. Children Missing from Education ProceduresBelow are the procedures to be followed by schools when the whereabouts of a pupil are unknown.School Staff:Check with the pupil’s named emergency contacts/telephone numbers/text message/email, carry out a home visit if possible, write letters to the pupil’s last known address.Check the pupil’s records to see if there are any siblings at another school – if so, contact the school to make further related enquiriesAsk the friends of missing pupils for any informationIf a voluntary aided school, check with the appropriate local faith leaderA record of actions 1-4 should be kept and noted on the CME referral form.Where school have been unsuccessful at locating a family and after a period of no less than 10 school days, a CME referral form (Appendix 1) should be completed and emailed to cme@tameside..uk. Where school have located the family but they are out of borough a CME referral form (Appendix 1) should be completed and emailed to cme@tameside..uk.Once schools have been advised by the Tracking Officer to remove pupils from their school roll they should upload pupil information onto the DfE s2s (school to school) ‘lost pupil’ database.Procedures for Children Who Fail to Attend Allocated Schools(Including Rec/Yr7)The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 state the following:“A pupil is a pupil at the school from the beginning of the first day on which the school has agreed, or has been notified, that the pupil will attend the school.”In the event the pupil fails to arrive at their allocated school, the following procedures should be followed by school staff.1) Ensure that attempts have been made to contact parents by phone call and letter, these must be evidenced on any future referral.3) Where parents have been located and have stated they are refusing to send the pupil to the allocated school it is the responsibility of the school to address the non-attendance (see Appendix 2). Parents should be advised to use the school appeals procedure in the first instance. 4) If the school does not have a response from their attempts to locate parents after 10 days, a CME referral form (Appendix 1) should be completed and emailed to cme@tameside..uk. Pupils should not be removed from roll until advised to do so by the Tracking Officer. 5) In the case of Reception pupils that are not statutory school age, school should make every attempt to contact the parent / carer. If there is no response after 10 days a CME referral form (Appendix 1) should be completed and emails via cme@tameside..uk.If the pupil has not been located after 20 school days, school should send a letter advising parents /carers that the pupil will be removed from the school roll. This letter should be sent to the last known address. The Tracking Officer will hold the pupil’s details until such time that the pupil reaches statutory school age. At this point, enquiries will commence by the Tracking Officer to establish if the pupil has re-applied for a school place. Parents of Summer born pupils are permitted to defer admission of their child until they are compulsory school age. This must be done with prior arrangements and schools will be notified to make special arrangements.5) The Admissions Team is provided with results of all school appeals. Where an appeal was unsuccessful, checks are made to ensure that pupils attend the original placement. Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions Children can also miss large amounts of education, or be unable to attend school at all, as a result of having a having a medical condition. It is for this reason, Governing bodies are required to make arrangements for supporting pupils to ensure they can access all aspects of the curriculum including PE and school trips.Statutory guidance states that schools have a medical policy which covers provision for pupils. In developing this policy, schools should liaise with Health care professionals.Where appropriate, schools should develop an Individual Health Care Plan (IHCP) for pupils. This will detail what specific arrangements will be put in place and which member of staff will be responsible for supporting pupils. IHCPs should be written after gaining advice from health care professionals, parents / carers & pupils.Link to statutory guidance: Procedures for other Professionals1) If an Officer from any other agency becomes aware that a family have moved out of the Borough and a pupil is missing from school, they should contact the school at which the pupil is registered in the first instance. If this is unknown the CME tracking Officer can be contacted on cme@tameside..uk. Procedures for EWS:On receipt of CME Referral form the Tracking Officer will: Liaise with the School Admissions Team to check if a transfer or appeal application has been received. Arrange for a home visit to be carried out by and Education Welfare Officer.If the pupil is found to still be at the address, the case will be referred back to school for them to manage non-attendance (see Appendix 2). If the family have left the property, the Tracking Officer will carry out various checks to establish the family’s whereabouts ie: Children’s Social Care, health, housing, Youth Offending Teams. If there is a suggestion that the family have moved to a different authority, even if no actual address is known, the Tracking Officer will notify the CME nominated person in the LA where information suggests the child may have moved to.If after a period of no less than 20 school days, the whereabouts of the pupil are still unknown, the Tracking Officer will contact school and advise they remove the pupil from the school roll. The date of leaving may be backdated to the date the pupil last attended. Ensure school have posted child’s CTF data to DfE s2s ‘Lost Pupil database’.At this point, the pupil will be recorded as ‘CME’ on Admissions system and the case is held open until the whereabouts are known. The Tracking Officer will: carry out regular follow-up checks in an ongoing effort to try and ascertain the pupil’s whereabouts,notify the Police ‘Missing Persons Co-ordinator’ if pupils have not been traced within a period of 6 months,liaise with other agencies as and when necessary, e.g. other LA’s, other area schools, UK Border Agency, Children’s Safeguarding professionalsOnce pupil’s whereabouts become known, and a school is identified, the Tracking Officer will update the previous school and School Admissions via CME Case Closure Form. Once a pupil’s whereabouts are known, the Tracking Officer will inform colleagues in other agencies of the new address and school (where applicable) and the case will be closed. ................
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